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HOTELS & TOURISM | Krisana Gallezo-Estaura, Singapore

Published: 27 Feb 14

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Find out how this 2-storey gallery-hostel in Singapore is painting the town red

It has 18 rooms with 100 beds.

iStayInn, a 2-storey hotel in Chinatown, Singapore, is giving urban art a new name. Claiming as the first hostel in Singapore to collaborate with a street artist from Hong Kong, iStayInn features art pieces and street art graffiti that fill the hostel's common areas, corridors and terrace. It has a total of 18 rooms with 100 beds.

In an exclusive interview with the Singapore Business Review, hotel manager Connie Siu said since its opening, iStayInn has hosted a lot of students from Hong Kong, China, Germany and Sweden for art exchanges.

''In Oct, 2013, a group of German Artist has stayed with us for the project at the Training Shed, Singapore. And they are planning to have a bigger one this summer,'' she said.

''I enjoy so much dealing with guests all around the world especially the Art students who come for Art & Culture exchanges. I linked up the local artists with the artists from overseas and have workshops in house,'' she shared.

Siu, an Australian born in Hong Kong, moved to Singapore two years ago and started this concept Hostel in South bridge Road despite not having any hotel management background.

''At that time there weren't as much hostel as now in Chinatown area and I think its very lucky for me to found this place,'' she said.

After over a year since it started its operations, iStayInn has painted its mark as an urban art hostel for enthusiasts across the world. But it's not resting on its laurels just yet.

''I would love to explore more about Art, especially street art, through iStay.inn, hopefully we can meet up more artists and bringing in more graffiti art and different cultures to Singapore,'' Siu added.